An interview about the situation in Masaya
Tom Ricker of the Quixote Center in Maryland interviewed me about the current situation in Masaya (June 2018). Here is what I said. There has been a tremendous amount of violence in Masaya over the last week. Several people have been killed, a school was set on fire, and people assumed to be supporters of […]
Sunday in Masaya
After the recent demonstrations (see below), this is my experience of events in Masaya on 6 May, when I travelled with a ‘peace caravan’ organised by the local Sandinista party (FSLN) in Masaya. I’ll try to report objectively what happened. I should emphasise that, at the moment, violence is limited to parts of Masaya and […]
After Ortega?
Nicaragua had a record 1.8 million tourists last year. It’s a beautiful country, and in 2017 it officially became the safest in Central America. But after three days of political violence last month, one of the few certainties in 2018 is that it will lose both records. More than 40 people died in the protests, […]
Old and new water projects
ADIC is again working to deliver water to communities in the hot, arid zone to the north of Masaya, called El Timal. Today we paid a visit to an old project and a possible new one. In 2014, with support from the British embassy, ADIC carried out its Agrosolar project in a small, remote community […]
By ox cart to Popoyuapa
Dozens of highly decorated ox carts are slowly making their way south from Masaya and two other cities in the central part of Nicaragua’s Pacific coastal regions. They are heading for a small place called Popoyuapa, in Rivas, Nicaragua’s southern-most department, bordering the frontier with Costa Rica. Their route south is along the pan-American highway, […]
The NICA Act – What is it and why should it be opposed?
US Ambassador to Nicaragua, Laura Dagu reportedly has said that the Senate could vote on the NICA Act “any day now”. The US Nicaragua Network is asking members to contact their Senators to tell them they oppose its passage and that the case for it is based on false premises. This article was prepared for […]
US Senate launches attack on Nicaragua poverty programmes
In an extraordinary move on the day before the US Senate’s Christmas recess, two Democrats sided with right-wing Republicans to introduce the so-called NICA Act, which if passed would require the US government to veto loans from international financial institutions to Nicaragua. While it is still a long way from becoming law, the bill suddenly […]
Can a coast-to-coast canal solve Nicaragua’s poverty problem?
Nicaragua is a small country that was praised for eventually signing the Paris climate agreement in October, but has since been criticised for pushing ahead with a planned interoceanic canal, with its uncertain environmental effects. So how does it reconcile these apparently conflicting positions? Nicaragua and Syria were the only two countries not to sign […]
The US is out, Nicaragua’s in
While Donald Trump gives the appearance of wavering over his decision to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Nicaragua has decided to sign it. It was one of only two countries not to sign in Paris last year; the other was Syria. Nicaragua abstained out of principle: the agreement didn’t go far […]
Global Witness fails to respond to detailed criticisms
Criticism of the organisation Global Witness and the coverage of Nicaragua in its latest report on ‘environmental defenders’ has so far failed to shift its stance, or even to persuade it to look in detail at the arguments. Here are the latest developments. The Two Worlds article published on July 16 was accompanied by emails […]
John Perry lives in Masaya, Nicaragua where he works on